Quote of the Day: Barbara Kingsolver on Agribusiness

I believe there is absolutely a direct relationship between living with too much and living with not enough… we have in every part of the world lost control of our food systems to agribusiness… [referring to Monsanto] a number of companies… have quite systematically removed seed banks, have contaminated [and] diminished the genetic material that all people in the world have with which to feed themselves, and it’s a terrifying problem. [T]he only way we can reclaim control over our food systems is to [first] step away, to any extent that we can, from the dismal presumption that it’s too late, because it’s not, it can’t be (we owe this to our kids to try) and to try whatever we can to reinvest in [and re-energize] our local [diversified and sustainable] food systems. If you can do that, you are helping the farmers in India because you’re walking away from agribusiness; you are forcing them to relinquish absolute control.

The second important thing is to get busy on changing legislation… and labelling laws… if the point of origin had to be on every package of food, then you could make better choices… and labelling GM foods would make an enormous difference if it were required. You could choose not to participate [and] not to support Monsanto.

-- Author Barbara Kingsolver in last week's reading of her first non-fiction work, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life at McGill University, Montreal. The book details the discoveries, joys and daily practicalities as the author and her family attempt to eat only locally grown foods over the course of one year, while offering an insightful and personal perspective on the evolution of North American agriculture today. All proceeds went to Montreal's local meals-on-wheels non-profit Santropol Roulant.

Image: University of Kentucky
I believe there is absolutely a direct relationship between living with too much and living with not enough… we have in every part of the world lost control of our food systems to agribusiness… [referring to Monsanto] a